- NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh is skeptical that the Warriors have a chance to acquire Marcus Smart in an offseason trade, but points to Kris Dunn as another defensive-minded guard who could be of interest to Golden State on the free agent market. Grant Liffmann of NBC Sports Bay Area has the details.
Shortly after the Bucks were eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday night, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweeted that a number of rival teams believe Milwaukee will explore a trade for Thunder point guard Chris Paul this offseason.
In his latest column, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer digs deeper into that idea, arguing that the Bucks need an upgrade at the point and making the case that Paul would be an ideal fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
While the Bucks likely wouldn’t face a ton of competition if they pursue Paul due to his exorbitant cap hit ($41.4MM in 2020/21), O’Connor cites league sources who say the Sixers have “seriously debated” the idea of going after the veteran guard. The Knicks – whose front office is now being run by CP3’s former agent Leon Rose – are also a potential suitor, as O’Connor notes.
The Bucks could conceivable outbid either team for Paul, but they don’t have a ton of appealing assets, in O’Connor’s view — after this year’s No. 24 overall pick, the next first-rounder Milwaukee can trade is in 2024.
Here’s more from O’Connor:
- League sources view the Bucks as the “clear favorite” to retain Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021, but the Heat, Raptors, Warriors, and Mavericks are among the teams hoping to make a run at him, according to O’Connor.
- Interestingly, O’Connor also reports that multiple league sources have said recently that the Clippers intend to pursue a deal for Antetokounmpo. It’s hard to imagine such a deal coming to fruition, but Giannis has an “admiration” for Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, O’Connor writes.
- Goran Dragic is one player the Bucks could try to sign in free agency as they seek a point guard upgrade, but league sources expect Dragic to remain with the Heat, per O’Connor.
- League sources expect a somewhat quiet trade market this offseason, says O’Connor.
A number of traded player exceptions that were scheduled to expire in July had their deadlines pushed back to coincide with the NBA’s revamped offseason schedule. In order to give teams the opportunity to maximize their resources, the expiration dates for those trade exceptions have been postponed to ensure they fall after the start of 2020 free agency.
For instance, the Warriors‘ $17.2MM traded player exception, generated in last July’s Andre Iguodala deal, had initially been set to expire on July 7, one year after the team traded Iguodala and one day after the NBA’s July moratorium ended. Now, with the free agency moratorium scheduled to end on October 23, Golden State’s TPE will expire on October 24, giving the team a small window to use it.
Presumably, if free agency gets delayed again, as has been rumored, the deadlines for that Warriors TPE and others would be pushed back again too.
As we explain in greater depth in our glossary entry, traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap teams to acquire players without needing to match salaries. The Warriors’ Iguodala trade exception is the one that’s most frequently discussed and speculated about, but Golden State isn’t the only team with a TPE that could come in handy this offseason.
Listed below are the 10 most valuable trade exceptions still available, along with their current expiration dates. Teams that go below the cap to use their cap room this offseason will have to forfeit these TPEs to do so.
- Golden State Warriors: $17,185,185 (10/24/20)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $10,389,997 (10/27/20)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $9,346,153 (10/25/20)
- Miami Heat: $7,533,867 (2/8/21)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $7,069,662 (1/21/21)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $4,736,842 (10/25/20)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $4,185,185 (2/8/21)
- New York Knicks: $3,988,766 (2/8/21)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $3,837,500 (12/24/20)
- Houston Rockets: $3,595,333 (2/5/21)
Check out our tracker for the full list of available traded player exceptions.
- Count the Warriors among the teams keeping a close eye on the Bucks’ fate in their second-round series against Miami, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. While the Heat and Raptors may be viewed as the strongest threats to lure Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee, Golden State would also make every effort to do so if the opportunity arises.
When the NBA completed its draft lottery last week, awarding the Timberwolves the No. 1 overall pick, it ensured that the full draft order for 2020 has now been established.
Of the 60 picks in this year’s draft, a total of 28 – nine in the first round and 19 in the second – have been traded from one team to another. However, that number could have been even higher if not for the protections that were applied to several traded picks.
In some cases, those traded draft picks will be rolled over to 2021 with identical protections. In other cases, teams have been awarded a different pick (or two) as a consolation for not receiving the protected 2020 pick. And in a couple instances, the obligation from one team another has simply been extinguished by virtue of this year’s protections.
Here’s a breakdown of the traded draft picks that were protected in 2020 and what will happen with them going forward:
First Round
Cavaliers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected) to Pelicans
Initially traded to Atlanta for Kyle Korver, the Cavaliers’ top-10 protected 2020 first-round pick was flipped by the Hawks to the Pelicans a year ago when Atlanta moved up to No. 4 to draft De’Andre Hunter.
Because the pick landed at No. 5 this year, the Cavaliers kept it. Instead of owing New Orleans a future first-rounder, Cleveland will send its unprotected 2021 and 2022 second-round picks to the Pelicans.
Jazz’s 2020 first-round pick (1-7 and 15-30 protection) to Grizzlies
Part of the Mike Conley trade, this pick was protected on either end of the first round, since the Jazz didn’t want to give up a high lottery selection, while the Grizzlies preferred not to receive a pick in the 20s. It was protected this year as a result of landing at No. 23.
The Jazz now owe the Grizzlies their 2021 first-round pick, with the same protections (1-7 and 15-30). If it doesn’t land between 8-14 next year, it will become simply top-six protected in 2022.
Warriors’ 2020 first-round pick (top-20 protected) to Nets
It became fairly obvious early in the season that this pick – included as part of the Kevin Durant/D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade, had no chance of conveying. The Warriors’ first-rounder ended up at No. 2 overall.
The Nets will now have to wait five years to get a pick from the Warriors, who owe Brooklyn their unprotected 2025 second-round pick.
Second Round
Pacers’ 2020 second-round pick (45-60 protected) to Nets
The Nets are still waiting on this pick as a result of a 2016 trade which saw them trade Thaddeus Young for the first-round pick that became Caris LeVert. It was originally supposed to be a 2017 second-rounder, but has been protected since then — it landed at No. 54 this year.
The Pacers now owe the Nets their 2021 second-rounder with the same 45-60 protection. That protection will also apply in 2022. If it still hasn’t changed hands by then, Brooklyn will receive Indiana’s unprotected 2023 second-rounder.
Hawks’ 2020 second-round pick (top-55 protected) to Celtics
The Hawks owed Boston their top-55 protected second-round pick, but never really expected it to be conveyed. It was a placeholder in a 2019 Jabari Bird trade that saw Atlanta acquire some cash. Atlanta’s second-round pick this year is No. 34 and was instead sent to the Sixers, who would have received it if it fell anywhere between 31-55.
The Hawks’ obligation to the Celtics is now extinguished.
Trail Blazers’ 2020 second-round pick (top-55 protected) to Nets
Like the Atlanta/Boston pick, this was a placeholder pick, first traded way back in 2015 from the Trail Blazers to Orlando in exchange for Maurice Harkless. From there, it went to Cleveland in 2016, Atlanta in 2017, and Brooklyn in 2018 as part of the Hawks’ acquisition of Jeremy Lin.
Because the Trail Blazers’ pick, which landed at No. 46, was protected this year, their obligation to the Nets is now extinguished.
Former Cavaliers coach and current Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue is expected to be one of the NBA’s most popular head coaching candidates this offseason, and he’s unlikely to come at a discount, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Vardon says that when Lue talked to the Lakers about their top job during the spring of 2019, he was seeking $7MM annually on a five-year contract. L.A.’s best offer was $20MM over three years, per The Athletic.
The Lakers won’t be in the market for a head coach this year, but there are several intriguing openings potentially in play for Lue, including the Nets, Sixers, and Pelicans jobs. Vardon notes that the Rockets could also join that list of Lue suitors if they decide to move on from Mike D’Antoni.
According to Vardon, there were frustrations within the Pelicans organization with Alvin Gentry around Christmas time in 2019, and if Lue had been available at that time – rather than working as a Clippers assistant – New Orleans may have moved on from Gentry and hired Lue during the season. However, sources tell Vardon that the Pelicans aren’t looking to spend more than about $5.5MM per year on their new head coach, so the competition for Lue may price them out.
Here are more head coaching notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Lue expects to receive an offer from the Nets, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). While Gregg Popovich may be Brooklyn’s dream candidate, Lue looks like a better bet to ultimately claim the Nets’ coaching job, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
- Lue is also viewed as the Sixers‘ top candidate. However, some agents have wondered if team ownership will be willing to pay big money for Lue while Brett Brown‘s salary is still on the books for two more years, per Jabari Young of CNBC.com. Young adds Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to the list of candidates believed to be in the mix for the 76ers’ job.
- Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown is receiving consideration from the Sixers for their coaching vacancy, though it remains to seen whether he’ll be interviewed, Pompey reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Warriors saved some money by getting the No. 2 pick in the draft lottery rather than the top spot. They’ll save approximately $4MM toward the luxury tax for next season, if the rookie scale remains the same, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
- The Warriors hold the rights to Israeli forward Lior Eliyahu but he’s retiring, Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi relays. He won several championships overseas during his career and played most recently of Maccabi Ashdod. Eliyahu, 34, was drafted in the second round by Magic in 2006 and his rights were traded numerous times.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the Warriors’ options in the 2020 NBA draft, with the team being awarded the No. 2 overall pick last week. The current front-runner to be drafted by Golden State appears to be 7’1″ center James Wiseman, though no decisions have been finalized yet — and that’s if the team decides to even keep the pick. “I know there’s a lot of narrative around us trading our pick and what we’re going to do with it, but we don’t really know anything,” general manager Bob Myers said. “At this point, we found out half an hour ago we had the No. 2 pick, so that’s the first step as far as getting some clarity.”
- Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers has yet to tip his hand as to whether or not the team will draft a new young player with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft or package it in the trade for a skilled veteran, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. “I don’t think I’ll know that anytime soon,” Myers said. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area posits that the Warriors, just one year removed from five consecutive NBA Finals runs, should move the pick for instant help, due to both the age of core Warriors Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and the lack of a clear future superstar in this year’s draft.
Thursday’s lottery results could produce a wave of trades before draft day, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. The former Grizzlies executive believes the Warriors, who landed the second overall selection, will try to swap the pick for more immediate help and lists the Hawks, Knicks, Wizards, Suns, Kings and possibly even the Timberwolves as other lottery teams that may be active on the trade market.
Hollinger proposes a couple of moves for Golden State, which also has a $17MM trade exception from last summer’s Andre Iguodala deal. He suggests offering the second pick to the Thunder for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or to the Hawks for John Collins, although Atlanta hopes to make the playoffs next season and may not be interested in dealing for the future.
Hollinger adds that the Knicks may want to package their picks at No. 8 and 27 to move up in the draft for one of the top point guards, the Wizards have incentive to improve quickly before Bradley Beal gets a chance to leave again and the Suns possess cap space to take on another player and have playoff aspirations after going undefeated in Orlando.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Salary cap concerns may make it difficult for the Warriors to find an appealing deal, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Counting its draft pick, Golden State already has more than $150MM in committed salary for next season, which puts the franchise far into the lottery tax, even if the threshold remains at this year’s figure of $132.7MM. Trading the No. 2 pick for a player with a $17MM salary could leave the Warriors with a record-setting $103MM tax bill and a total payroll of nearly $270MM.
- The eight teams not in Orlando were relieved that the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, Suns and Wizards didn’t move up in Thursday’s lottery, notes Zach Lowe of ESPN. He cites resentment among some of the non-invited teams that they didn’t get a chance to form chemistry the way Phoenix did, and one general manager said it would have been “our worst nightmare” if any of those teams had jumped into the top four.
- Georgia guard Anthony Edwards tops the latest mock draft released by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Most NBA executives agree that Edwards is a top-three prospect, Vecenie writes, and many think his physical tools give him the highest upside in this year’s class. LaMelo Ball is the No. 1 choice in a mock draft compiled by Jonathan Givony of ESPN.